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Ten Things I Saw On Tape

1. The Eagles Defense played tight man coverage about 90% of the game and often bracketed the slot or tight end.

2. Very rarely did any of our receivers gain significant separation and on the occasion they did the pocket was breaking down (Throw to Pitta on a corner route in the end zone and ten yard out to Boldin on final drive). If Flacco was protected well on the Pitta throw it would have been an easy TD.

3. Cam called a couple of passes out of bunch formations in the first half. They weren't very successful but it was encouraging to see.

4. Torrey received a lot of attention from DRC and Coleman. DRC played a bail coverage most of the day on Torrey where he lined up like he was playing press and on the snap would turn and run. I would have liked to have seen Cam try to take advantage of that with a screen or slant. I also believe the coverage he was given would have been great to have tried some back shoulder throws that we have seen Joe make recently.

5. On the interception, Joe had Q open for a second on a quick choice route where Boldin ran in and then whipped out. Had Flacco hit him right as he turned outside he may have gotten the first down, however I think he saw the LB inside and moved on to Pitta in the progression. He ended up throwing the ball right into the hands of the LB who deterred him from going to Boldin.

6. Ramon Harewood had a "Welcome to the NFL" type game. He was beaten quickly on the 'would be' TD pass to Pitta and was pushed back on numerous run plays. I wouldn't worry too much though, considering it was his first road start and against a very talented Philly D line.

7. Our Defense played man the inverse percentage that Eagles did. Zone coverage is useful against mobile QBs and the defense was close on numerous plays. Ray Lewis did not have a great game in coverage and many of the longer passes in the middle of the field were due to Ray not getting enough depth in his drops. I suspect he was staying closer to the LOS to prevent scrambling, as this was mentioned by Harbaugh in one of the press conferences.

8. Jimmy Smith and Cary Williams continue to struggle, especially in off man coverage. The Eagles have some fast receivers but with the depth that Ed Reed was playing (25 yards off the ball on most plays), I think they gave D Jax and Maclin a little too much respect. Many comeback routes were completed on the pair and Jimmy Smith even got turned around on one by #13 (who!?).

9. The Eagles did a good job of moving the pocket with Vick on a couple of third down plays where we had blitzes dialed up. The blitzes were rendered useless in this case and Vick easily picked on the soft man coverage. To add.. The Maclin TD was an obvious error by Ed Reed as the defense was set in a 2 Shell and Ed quickly left his zone as soon as Vick left the pocket.

10. McClellan played good. Set the edge well, had a near INT and tackled well. Webb was the Webb we see every game and he was probably one of the most underrated players in the league.

The book is out on how to beat this team... but luckily, few teams have the personnel to execute the way the Eagles did. I would expect Sunday Night's performance to be a lot different in both facets of the game. We are a good to great team... we just need to find our rhythm, execute, and dictate to the other team on both sides of the ball.

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

Originally Posted by JMUpurkfool

1. The Eagles Defense played tight man coverage about 90% of the game and often bracketed the slot or tight end.

2. Very rarely did any of our receivers gain significant separation and on the occasion they did the pocket was breaking down (Throw to Pitta on a corner route in the end zone and ten yard out to Boldin on final drive). If Flacco was protected well on the Pitta throw it would have been an easy TD.

3. Cam called a couple of passes out of bunch formations in the first half. They weren't very successful but it was encouraging to see.

4. Torrey received a lot of attention from DRC and Coleman. DRC played a bail coverage most of the day on Torrey where he lined up like he was playing press and on the snap would turn and run. I would have liked to have seen Cam try to take advantage of that with a screen or slant. I also believe the coverage he was given would have been great to have tried some back shoulder throws that we have seen Joe make recently.

5. On the interception, Joe had Q open for a second on a quick choice route where Boldin ran in and then whipped out. Had Flacco hit him right as he turned outside he may have gotten the first down, however I think he saw the LB inside and moved on to Pitta in the progression. He ended up throwing the ball right into the hands of the LB who deterred him from going to Boldin.

6. Ramon Harewood had a "Welcome to the NFL" type game. He was beaten quickly on the 'would be' TD pass to Pitta and was pushed back on numerous run plays. I wouldn't worry too much though, considering it was his first road start and against a very talented Philly D line.

7. Our Defense played man the inverse percentage that Eagles did. Zone coverage is useful against mobile QBs and the defense was close on numerous plays. Ray Lewis did not have a great game in coverage and many of the longer passes in the middle of the field were due to Ray not getting enough depth in his drops. I suspect he was staying closer to the LOS to prevent scrambling, as this was mentioned by Harbaugh in one of the press conferences.

8. Jimmy Smith and Cary Williams continue to struggle, especially in off man coverage. The Eagles have some fast receivers but with the depth that Ed Reed was playing (25 yards off the ball on most plays), I think they gave D Jax and Maclin a little too much respect. Many comeback routes were completed on the pair and Jimmy Smith even got turned around on one by #13 (who!?).

9. The Eagles did a good job of moving the pocket with Vick on a couple of third down plays where we had blitzes dialed up. The blitzes were rendered useless in this case and Vick easily picked on the soft man coverage. To add.. The Maclin TD was an obvious error by Ed Reed as the defense was set in a 2 Shell and Ed quickly left his zone as soon as Vick left the pocket.

10. McClellan played good. Set the edge well, had a near INT and tackled well. Webb was the Webb we see every game and he was probably one of the most underrated players in the league.

The book is out on how to beat this team... but luckily, few teams have the personnel to execute the way the Eagles did. I would expect Sunday Night's performance to be a lot different in both facets of the game. We are a good to great team... we just need to find our rhythm, execute, and dictate to the other team on both sides of the ball.

Good analysis. I really did not think Jimmy Smith was that bad on Sunday IMO. Frankly I thought the lack of timely pressure was more to blame for some of the DB issues. You cant expect guys to hold coverage that long. Carey Williams on the other hand had a subpar game

In your analysis, can you discuss what you saw in terms of the difference in separation the receivers were getting in the first and second halves. To me it seemed that once we slowed the tempo down the separation the receivers were getting was much less.

Excellent call on Harewood. He had tough game but like you said, first road game as a starter and you can see the potential. I do believe the Oline will be a work in progress but one that improves as the year progresses (unless injuries etc)

“A linebacker's job is to knock out running backs, to knock out receivers, to chase the football,”
-Ray Lewis

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

Originally Posted by Ravenous1

Good analysis. I really did not think Jimmy Smith was that bad on Sunday IMO. Frankly I thought the lack of timely pressure was more to blame for some of the DB issues. You cant expect guys to hold coverage that long. Carey Williams on the other hand had a subpar game

In your analysis, can you discuss what you saw in terms of the difference in separation the receivers were getting in the first and second halves. To me it seemed that once we slowed the tempo down the separation the receivers were getting was much less.

Excellent call on Harewood. He had tough game but like you said, first road game as a starter and you can see the potential. I do believe the Oline will be a work in progress but one that improves as the year progresses (unless injuries etc)

It seemed to me that the Eagles began to really compress the defense in the second half. 8 in the back and tight coverage straight across. We did use less bunch formations in the second half and that may have contributed. In the first half, Joe got Pitta one on one against off coverage and was able to hit him on a slant and quick post. In the second half, they treated Pitta like any of our other receivers and pressed him. The lack of no huddle probably resulted in less time for Joe to pass because of the fresh cycle of defensive lineman for Philly.

I am Watching the replay now. Iggles played some zone in the first half but man press in the 2nd. They ran a full blitz on the Flacco TD to jacoby jones, just shows that if you're gonna blitz the house you better get there.

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

Originally Posted by Ravenswintitle

I am Watching the replay now. Iggles played some zone in the first half but man press in the 2nd. They ran a full blitz on the Flacco TD to jacoby jones, just shows that if you're gonna blitz the house you better get there.

The few time they did blitz Joe burned them. This was apparent on the two Rice catches on the one good drive in the second half.

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

Originally Posted by Ravenswintitle

I am Watching the replay now. Iggles played some zone in the first half but man press in the 2nd. They ran a full blitz on the Flacco TD to jacoby jones, just shows that if you're gonna blitz the house you better get there.

By its nature the up tempo offense does make it more difficult to run man to man press. In an up tempo game running that type of coverage is more apt to lead to coverage breakdowns as adjustments are hard to make before the snap. Least with zone everyone has areas of responsibility so to speak

Just out of curiosity. Did the Eagles come out in that man to man press in the second half or did they move into that coverage when they realized the Ravens had changed tempo? I forget to be honest.

“A linebacker's job is to knock out running backs, to knock out receivers, to chase the football,”
-Ray Lewis

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

Not to beat a dead horse or "sound like a baby" (as Joe would say), but I just finished watching the coaches tape as well and it is REALLY hard to talk about the lack of separation among receivers without mentioning that Torrey was getting abused by DRC on nearly every play of the second half. The broadcast showed the one play where he ran a 9 route and DRC was practically taking his jersey off and never got a call, but it was like this on nearly every play. In fact, Joe went back to Torrey on a comeback on the very next play but threw significantly wide of the mark. Watching the broadcast it looked like this was just an inaccurate throw, but on the coaches tape, DRC noticeably yanks Torrey back as he is coming out of his break (something you can clearly see from a camera so zoomed out that you can see every single player's full route; how a ref 3 yards away can't see it is beyond me), and he can't get to the spot he otherwise would have been. Finally, on the game-ending 4th down play, Torrey ran a 9 route down the left sideline and was being pushed the entire 20 yards he ran before Joe threw incomplete to Rice.

I'm sure this sounds like sour grapes but after just watching the tape I needed to vent. For those with the game rewind package, I would recommend focusing on Torrey (and occasionally Jacoby) in the second half to tell me if you agree, particularly on the aforementioned plays. As far as what the Ravens can control, the route combinations are very basic in my opinion and need to be expanded. It seems that Boldin essentially runs an out, in, or seam (where he is essentially a decoy) on nearly every play, with the occasional jerk route thrown in. I would really like to see more slants and pick plays, but considering Cam's reputation, I'm not expecting change.

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

Great analysis JMU. A few comments on what I saw...

1) I believe the Ravens chose to play more zone than man due to the overall team speed of the Eagles.. .from Vick to McCoy to the WRs. This left holes for Vick to throw to, but the DBs didn't have their backs turned to Vick so if he took off or McCoy cut back on a draw they'd be able to react more quickly. Take the big play out of the equation. The philosophy was that Vick wasn't patient enough to drive the ball on long 10 play drives without a turnover.

2) With the way the game was being called, playing press man was going to be more effective than usual. The hand fighting that the DBs were allowed to get away with being the reason. Therefore the Eagles strategy in the second half was more effective than the Raven's. Not sure Pees was wrong for his game plan, but wasn't able to take advantage of the way the game was officiated.

3) In the past the offense was built to help the defense. Ball control.. time of possession. Run the clock... keep the defense off the field. I stated a couple months back after the Suggs injury that I felt the Raven's would be a top 10 Defense. Not so sure now. I think they'll be an effective defense, but they're going to have a lot more plays run against them than in years past due to more passing from the Raven offense and not waiting to snap the ball until there are less than 5 seconds on the play clock. We're going to see some offensive 3 and out series this year that run less than 45 seconds off the clock I think. When it's clicking it's going to be a thing of beauty. When it's struggling, we're going to have stretches like the second half this past week.

4) Conversely, I think maybe now the defense is being setup to help the offense more so than in the past. Bend, don't break.. make them kick FGs because we'll score TDs. Once we're ahead and you have to pass, we'll blitz you and force you into mistakes. That worked against the Bengals.. not so much against the Eagles.

I would expect to see more man coverage (and more blitzing) against the Patriots for a number of reasons.. mainly because they don't have the personnel to run the ball like the Eagles do.

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

Originally Posted by Ravenous1

By its nature the up tempo offense does make it more difficult to run man to man press. In an up tempo game running that type of coverage is more apt to lead to coverage breakdowns as adjustments are hard to make before the snap. Least with zone everyone has areas of responsibility so to speak

Just out of curiosity. Did the Eagles come out in that man to man press in the second half or did they move into that coverage when they realized the Ravens had changed tempo? I forget to be honest.

They played both in the first but it looked like straight up man/press in the 2nd. They made adjustments and it was also clear they knew they could get away with grabbing the receiver all the way down field. These guys have figured out the officials and are pushing it to the brink.

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

Very good stuff guys. Thanks for the work.
It appears our coaches aren't adapting too well, or just not adapting at all.

In the past when our receivers didn't get seperation, it was because they were old and slow.
Now we have some fo the fastest wideouts out there except for Boldin, yet the same result in the second half.
Strategy and creative plays help get receivers open.
The Steelers and Patriots do it all the time.
We have played them enough to see what works against our own great defenses of the past decade.
Why not incorporate them into our own playbook?
Always makes me shake my head. It is called learning.

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

The coaches film shows less blame should be placed on Joe and more on Cam and the receivers. It's becoming clear Cam can not come up with schemes to get receivers open. The receivers were blanketed by their dbs, and couldn't get separation.

Re: Ten Things I Saw On Tape

Originally Posted by JMUpurkfool

2. Very rarely did any of our receivers gain significant separation and on the occasion they did the pocket was breaking down (Throw to Pitta on a corner route in the end zone and ten yard out to Boldin on final drive). If Flacco was protected well on the Pitta throw it would have been an easy TD.